Key rallies behind All Blacks

NEW ZEALAND prime minister John Key has called on the country to rally around the beleaguered All Blacks following their two dismal defeats to South Africa in the Tri-Nations.

Since New Zealand’s most recent 31-19 loss to the Springboks in Durban, talkback radio has been inundated with calls from disgruntled fans questioning the ability of coaches Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, who have recently been re-signed until after the 2011 World Cup.

There has also been plenty of criticism of the game plan adopted by the All Blacks which saw them try to run the ball from deep in their own half constantly despite the wet conditions in Durban.

The misfiring lineout, poor ball skills, ill-discipline and the lack of a decent kicking game have also left many feeling unhappy.

But Key believes the team needs to be supported, not denounced.

“At one level it’s important that we rally around them. The All Blacks win a hell of a lot more than they lose,” he told Newstalk ZB. “The team is rebuilding. As long as they win in 2011 at the Rugby World Cup that will probably work for me.”

South Africa yesterday named an unchanged starting line-up for Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test against Australia in Cape Town with outhalf Ruan Pienaar the only change on the bench.

Pienaar missed the 31-19 win over New Zealand in Durban on Saturday with an ankle strain and his replacement, Morne Steyn, scored all of South Africa’s points to set a record as the leading scorer in a Tri-Nations match.

The 25-year-old Pienaar replaces centre Wynand Olivier on the bench.

“Ruan has always been part of our plans and I still believe he is a top-class player. But I will do an injustice if I bring him straight back in. We now have a situation in the team where if you are injured and lose your spot, it is hard to work your way back,” said coach Peter de Villiers.

Meanwhile, Wallaby lock forward Nathan Sharpe has dismissed suggestions from de Villiers that Australia try to con referees into awarding them penalties at scrum time. De Villiers said the mindset of the Wallabies was to target the “grey areas”, put doubt in the mind of the referee and then let him decide the 50/50 calls. It’s a brilliant tactic if you can get it right,” de Villiers said. Sharpe said no team in world rugby would deliberately pull down the scrum and leave it up to chance. “That would just be too great a risk,” Sharpe said yesterday.

Sharpe said the Wallabies had spent plenty of time thinking about their defeat in Auckland, their only match so far in this year’s Tri-Nations. “Three weeks is a long time to stew on a performance you’re not happy about and the whole squad is ready to step up,” he said.

SOUTH AFRICA: F Steyn; JP Pietersen, J Fourie, J de Villiers, B Habana; M Steyn, F du Preez; T Mtawarira, B du Plessis, J Smit, B Botha, V Matfield, H Brussow, J Smith, P Spies. Replacements: C Ralepelle, J du Plessis, A Bekker, D Rossouw, E Januarie, R Pienaar, A Jacobs.